Final chapter

Back home, the trip's over, and I'm looking for a job. Bummer.

But before I get back in to the fun of building a project team and delivering some piece of IT kit, it's timely to recap on the purpose of the trip - the acquisition of paper knives!


And here they are. In the front from left to right are:

• A kris from Malaysia. A curved edge knife with a sting in the tip. Ideal for bills and letters that look like they're inflicting pain
• A buffalo bone knife from Laos, the land of the elephants. This big knife will be useful for those extra large envelopes
• A nicely decorated knife from Cambodia. Given that its source was the Tuol Sleng torture museum, this knife will be for letters from lawyers, accountants and the Inland Revenue Department.
  

And in the back row, two remarkably similar knives, though the vendors swore they were produced locally. To the same Chinese design and components perhaps? Anyway, cynicism aside, from left to right:

• A knife from Vietnam, a land of lovely people, but also the source of the greatest number of scam attempts. I'll use this knife for all those come-ons to contribute and donate to some worthy cause
• And finally a knife from Thailand, a land where love is in the air, and more so in the massage parlours and ping pong shows! Be that as it may, this knife will be for letters from friends and family.

The blog would not be complete without a quick financial summary. I totted up my expenditure from cash and credit cards, and it turned out like this:

	Cash/ATM	Visa	Total	Days	$/day	$US/day
Pre-travel	$0	$1,946	$1,946
Indochina	$4,012	$1,384	$5,396	68	$79	$62
Australia	$540	$1,452	$1,992	10	$199	$155
Total	$4,552	$4,783	$9,335

Some observations:

• Nearly $2,000 went in to clothing, equipment, and in particular, vaccinations before I even left New Zealand. I was vaccinated for rabies and Japanese encephalitis - certainly potentially fatal diseases if you contract them, but the risk is very low. I didn't take any malaria pills - all the advice I received said put the money in to preventing mosquitoes from biting in the first place - nets, deet, and clothing that covers arms and legs. This protects against dengue as well, for which there's no vaccination
  
• Costs don't include airfares to/from Indochina. I was traveling on Frequent Flier points
• Typically I was spending around $15/day on guesthouses, and a similar amount on food and drink. The balance was taken up by package trips, internal travel, entry fees and a few souvenirs.
• 80% of my expenditure was in cash. It's not easy or practical to use Visa for small expenses, and when you do, you're immediately paying a 3% surcharge. Worth it for some expenses though.
• What a huge difference when I got to Australia! And that's only half the story, as Pauline had already prepaid a lot of the cost. It does reinforce the fact that Asia is an incredibly cheap place to visit if you're prepared to rough it a bit as a backpacker.
  

My advice to anyone enthused about visiting Indochina - do it now! It will only get more more westernised, more polluted, and more expensive if you wait. Go while the natural charm of these countries can still be experienced. And have a ball!

Malacca to Singapore

I've done my dash in Malacca, so Thursday morning and it's time to make tracks for Singapore. I seem to be waking up early these days, and just make the 8am bus.


I like the sign on the bus - no smoking, no food or drink, no durians! For those unfamiliar with this, the King of Fruit, Wikipedia describes it thus:

The hard outer husk is covered with sharp, prickly thorns, while the edible flesh within emits a distinctive odour, which is regarded as either fragrant or overpowering and offensive. Even when the husk of the fruit is still intact, the odour of the ripe fruit is very strong and penetrating. This unusual odour has prompted many people to formulate evocative descriptions, with views ranging from those of deep appreciation to intense disgust.

Travel and food writer Richard Sterling is a little more blunt: "...its odor is best described as pig-shit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock." Clearly an acquired taste.

An uneventful trip until we get to the border crossing. I'm the only one left on the bus (everyone else got out at Johor Bahru), and the driver speaks no English. Will he wait for me as I depart Malaysia? Yes he does, and we head over the causeway. Will he wait while I go through the entry formalities to Singapore? Sign language implies he will, but 15 minutes later he's nowhere to be seen. I pace up and down looking for the bus, having memorised the number plate. Nothing.

Looking about as lost as a backpacker can be, an attendant tells me his bus will take me in to town for $4. I'm in! A brief walk at the other end gets me to the Inncrowd, Singapore's most popular backpacker hostel. Expensive (comparatively) at $20 per night for a dorm bed, but in the heart of Little India close to everything, so all is good.

First step is to head for the electronics malls, and Sim Lim Square is a few minutes down the road. There are a few shops selling the HTC TyTN II, so I look for the best price at the shop that looks like it'll provide the best service. Song Bros does the trick, and they throw in a 2Gb memory card and adapter cable as part of the bargain.

The only thing on my "Must do in Singapore" list is the Night Safari adjacent to the zoo. As luck would have it, the Inncrowd is organising a group at discount rates, leaving the hostel at 6pm.

On the bus, I find myself sitting next to Sean from Ireland. His wife is already in NZ, and he's joining her in a couple of days. We have a good chat, and see part of the safari together.


First activity is the tram ride, which goes around the entire park. It's getting dark by now, and photography is pretty much a waste of time, but this blurred shot of a rhino will give you an idea. The park is cleverly laid out with invisible moats, so you really feel as if you're part of the action. We also see lions, tigers, leopards, buffalo, giraffe, antelope, bearded pigs, and a host of other animals as we cruise around, all doing their nocturnal thing.


The "Show" is a bit cheesy. The crowd's warmed up by our compere, and a succession of animals and birds do tricks on and around the stage, a couple of times with audience involvement. Not quite my thing. The best moment is when a wild animal is "supposedly" loose in the crowd, and the shrieks of the girls as this python is extracted from a box under their feet is a good laugh.

Sean and I go our separate ways down different walking paths after this, but I've given him a good idea of things to see and do in NZ, plus my email address if he and his wife have an opportunity to catch up when Pauline and I are back.

Friday is a lazy day. I check out the HTC to ensure there are no problems with it, pick up a couple of things for Fi, and txt Alvin, an old mate of mine from my Datacom days. Alvin is a native Singaporean, and he and his wife spent a year in NZ in 2003/2004. We agree to meet up for dinner, so at 7pm I'm heading to Bugis Junction. Great catching up on old times, and learning a bit more about Singapore. Unfortunately his wife couldn't join us - she's on business in Taiwan for a week, so no deadlines!

Alvin drives us to a popular beach area on the south-east side of the island, and sensing my enthusiasm for Asian food selects some typical Singaporean treats - satays, crispy chicken wings and chili stingray along with a plate of veges. All excellent, especially when washed down with three large bottles of Tiger beer.

We go for a walk along the waterfront after dinner, and find a place I'm sure Fi would fall in love with. A large lake has been set up with jumps and an overhead rope pull system, and a bunch of guys are out wake boarding. No boat required - just hang on and circumnavigate the lake, including or excluding the various jumps depending on your ability. Cool!

Alvin drops me back at the Inncrowd where we say good bye, and I realise it's well after 11pm by now. No problems - backpackers are a mixed crowd. Some are sleeping, but a lot of the beds are still empty, and their occupants dribble in after midnight.

Alvin's suggested a walk on Saturday to get me better acquainted with Singapore than the inside of electronics malls.


First stop is the Little India MRT (train) station, and I'm intrigued by the advertisement on the left. Singapore must be the safest city in Asia, but residents are still exhorted to be vigilant. It'll be a while before NZ can claim a similar standard.


I exit the train at Chinatown. You can guess? The pressed ducks give it away.


Walking north across the Singapore River shows modern Singapore coexisting with some of the older colonial buildings.


I stop by the amazing Raffles Hotel, the entrance flanked by sweet smelling frangipani trees, and despite my backpacker attire chance a look inside. No worries - I sit down at a table in the Tiffin dining room and am served the best latte I've had in all of Indochina. So it should be - it cost $10!


I've read about Sir Ed's death on the Net, but this cartoon in the Straits Times while I'm sipping my latte catches my eye. It seems the whole world is mourning his death, not just for his achievement in being the first (with Tenzing Norgay) to scale Everest, but also for the great work he's done in returning and assisting the Nepalese. Certainly a towering NZ icon. Sir Ed - rest in peace.


My travels take me up to the Arab quarter - can't get much more authentic than a shot of Aladdin's in Arab St. Definitely a Muslim area - suddenly all the women are modestly wearing head scarves and long dresses again.

Back to Little India via the Mustapha Arcade for a couple more electronics items, and I'm pleased to see the HTC a bit more expensive here than at Sim Lim Square.

So, impressions of Singapore. The wealthiest city in Asia, and it shows. The streets are spotless, the cars actually give way to pedestrians on crossings, the MRT is efficient, pollution is under control, there are no smelly sewers, you can drink the tap water, there is no obvious poverty, and not a lot of traffic congestion (even though more than NZ's population is squeezed in to this small island state).

Primary reason is that it's extremely expensive to drive a car here. Purchase prices are twice what we pay in NZ, and every vehicle (including motor bikes) are fitted with transponders that clip your ticket whenever you drive. And it doesn't stop there - parking in any public area incurs more charges. So poorer Singaporeans content themselves with the excellent public transport system, while those who can afford it drive cars.

Does Singapore have a soul? Alvin and I discussed this one. It's a new country - just a swamp a couple of centuries ago. So all the residents are immigrants, with no indigenous population. A multi-cultural society of people who have chosen to come here, but without the depth of history claimed by Singapore's neighbours. But whether it's soulless or not, it's certainly a great city, and one into which any Westerner could easily assimilate. English is widely spoken, and nearly all the signs are in English. And of course it's a perfect springboard for the rest of Asia.

Yes, I could live here quite comfortably. Being just a degree north of the equator the weather is balmy and tropical, with afternoon thunderstorms rolling in at this time of year. I looked in the paper to check out PM roles, but no matches and no salaries printed. Alvin's going for his Prince2 PM qualification, so perhaps he can keep me in touch!

Tomorrow I fly out to Sydney to spend 10 days in NSW with Pauline, so this post concludes my travels around Indochina. It's been a fantastic 10 weeks visiting six countries, and it's impossible to pick favourites. Each country, each city, each location has a character all its own, and depending on your predilections you'll favour one over the other. For me it was just a huge smorgasboard of experiences, and for those diligently following my blog, I hope you've enjoyed the journey as much as I've enjoyed experiencing and relating it.

When I get home I might put up a summary post - how much I spent overall (no, I don't keep track of my day by day expenses), and how I'm putting my new set of paper knives to good use!

KL to Malacca

It's time to leave KL, but before I do I need to take on the parks as a counterpoint to the malls. It's early morning on Tuesday 8 Jan, and I head west from Chinatown towards the Planetarium. Everything's closed of course, but it's good to get out of the city into a bit of fresh air.


Plenty of monkeys around. This guy had just scored a banana from the side of the road.


And they like the netting of the bird sanctuary too. They look like a bunch of pirate monkeys setting sail.

I stop in at the Central Markets on my way back to the Red Dragon, and find a fine kris - a Malay dagger. One of the definitive icons of Malaysia. This will round off my paper knife collection nicely.

I say good bye to KL. A modern Asian city with a combination of character and decent infrastructure, but suffering from pollution and congestion, and no consideration for pedestrians or cyclists. But they are at least acknowledging the endemic Asian propensity to litter, and there are plenty of signs encouraging citizens to clean up their act and be conservation-minded.

Otherwise it's a bit like Bangkok - I could live here if pushed, but would relish the opportunity to get out of town to the beaches and jungle.

The bus to Malacca is a pretty smooth affair, and I set off in the late afternoon to see the place. Doesn't take long - Malacca's just a little town on the south west coast divided by a small river. It makes up for it by having a lot of history - I don't think there's another place in Malaysia with so many museums in so small a space.


First stop is the Maritime Museum located in this old Portuguese nau (carrack). Interesting to note that Malacca was a thriving trading port in the 1500s until successively the Portuguese, Dutch then British muscled in. Their greed progressively forced the traders elsewhere, which is why Singapore is booming and Malacca is now a sleepy little backwater.

With a whole day up my sleeve I head back to my guesthouse, the Travellers Lodge. Not a bad little place near the old quarter, but the bed and pillows in my room stink of stale sweat. Leafing through the "Things to do when you have too much time" catalogue I come across the "Melaka On Bike" ecotour - OK! In a millisecond I'm booked in.


Only me, so my guide Alias and I make good time as we visit rubber and palm oil plantations on the outskirts of the city. Malaysia's in the middle of a palm oil crisis at the moment. Not enough supply, so everyone's running out of cooking oil. Quotas are imposed, and the papers are full of stories about people stockpiling.


Interesting seeing the latex being collected. The bark on half the trunk is removed and gravity does the rest. Alias pulls off some semi-dried latex and rolls it in to a ball. Bounces like a superball!


The wealthier plantation owners employ a more efficient method. They pump the tree full of gas to accelerate the extraction.

Alias tosses me a couple of rubber tree seeds. "Here, take these home. Keep you in condoms for life", he grins. Hmm, I don't need condoms, but I do need a new set of tyres for the Forester. I pocket the seeds and hope MAF will let them through.


The afternoon sees me back on the tourist trail. The A'Famosa fort and St Pauls Church are first on the agenda.


The tombstone is dated 1655.



The Stadthuys houses another succession of museums - had enough after them, but I do have a pretty good appreciation of what happened here over the last 500 years now. A walk down the antique shops of Jonker St rounds off the sightseeing. Nothing to buy.

Thoughts on Malacca? A nice little town, particularly if you're in to colonial history. Otherwise it's a bit small, smelly (the sewers haven't improved much in the last few centuries), and the coast isn't utilised at all. The town centres around the small brown river a bit upstream from the coast.

So first thing Thursday I'm off to Singapore. In hindsight I should perhaps have taken the advice I'd received and done Taman Negara National Park and Borneo. But now I have an opportunity to come back to Malaysia. One of the countries on my travels that exceeded expectations - especially Langkawi and the Cameron Highlands.

Cameron Highlands to the KL malls

I can recommend the D'Chennai Curry House in Tanah Rata - they do a great Roti Canai. Basically wrap something up in a roti, like chicken & vegetables, fry it sealed, and serve it with a curry sauce. Great!

Malaysia's multi-cultural makeup of Malays, Chinese, and Indians makes for a varied cuisine - there's no one typical Malaysian dish. While Roti Canai is an Indian staple, Malays go for Nasi Lemak, while the Chinese have all sorts of options depending on background and location, perhaps with Zhap Fan (mixed rice) being a common denominator. I'll give an update on these as I try them. But out in the markets it's hard to get away from satays - chicken or beef on skewers cooked on a charcoal grill and served with a peanut sauce at a hawker stall on the side of the road. Cheap, filling and delicious

Interesting too that while Malaysia has a multicultural society, ostensibly living in harmony, there are divisions. The local papers continue to call on all races to put aside their differences, but just as in NZ, some (ie the Indians here) are in a poorer socio-economic grouping, and friction results. Nothing visible to me as a tourist though - all it means to me is different food, different faces, and different market choices. As in all other countries in Indochina, I feel perfectly safe wandering the streets at any time

But back to my travels. I leave the excellent Twin Pines guesthouse on Saturday, and catch the bus to KL. It's only 200km or so, but the bus makes frequent stops at the whim of the driver, and it takes a boring four hours

Fi's recommended the Red Dragon guesthouse in KL, and as luck would have it, it's in the heart of Chinatown just a few minutes walk from the bus station. I check in to a cheap room at only 30 ringitt ($10) per night. Single bed, fan, shared bathroom, and an internal room - no windows. A bit stuffy, but nice and quiet.

The guesthouse is quite easy to find. Opposite KFC, just round the corner from McDonalds, Nandos and Starbucks! But they're all spurned in favour of hawker stall satays.

I cruise the huge Chinatown markets, but nothing really sparks my interest. Perhaps I'm just getting a bit jaded by cheap T-shirts and trinkets.

Sunday is an interesting day. I'm off to the Petronas Twin Towers to take in the view and do a bit of window shopping. The guide book says to get there early for tickets, so I catch the train to KLCC and am there 10 minutes after the 8.30am opening time. I'm thinking that on a Sunday morning there won't be anyone there, and I'll be up and down in a flash so I can check out the malls.

The assembly area is a seething mass of humanity at 8.40am. I'm finally guided to the end of the queue that snakes backwards and forwards for half an hour before I even reach the ticket counter. By now the free tickets are for the 1pm viewing slot. I resign myself to a wasted half day

But it doesn't turn out that way. After a coffee and muffin at the San Francisco Coffee Shop I set out to explore the KLCC mall at the base of the towers.


It's huge! On the ground floor are all the European fashion houses - Bally, Chanel, Gucci, Cartier, Escada, Hermes, Tiffany, Georgio Armani, and more. I pass them all by. Nothing really interests me, and anyway, I'm already sporting my Rolex. (Actually they did have some nice stuff, most with unmarked prices. I guess if you have to ask, you can't afford to be in there.)

I wind round and round each successive floor, and finally get to the electronics section. My old Imate Jam phone/PDA is on the way out, and I'm looking for a replacement. The HTC Tytn II looks good, but at a price. I'll check out comparitive prices at other malls and on the Internet before I make any buying decisions.


In no time at all 1pm rolls around, and I've only just finished the mall - not a wasted morning at all. The view from the sky bridge that connects the two towers is stunning, and it's a comparitively clear day too.


I head south towards more malls in the Bintang Walk part of town, and look back to see this nice shot of the towers framed between the trees. I was only on the bridge, but that seemed high enough!

The Bintang malls are confusing. You enter a small walkway, and suddenly Tardis-like a huge three-dimensional chessboard of shops disappear off in to the distance in every direction. It's easy to get disorientated, and after a while the shops have a sameness so you don't know whether you've actually been there before or not. Exhausted, I struggle out in to the street again to get my bearings.


Security is pretty tight. I'm not sure what this guard would do if a shoplifter ran past - shoot him in the back?

I find a few comparitive prices on the HTC - a fraction cheaper in these malls, but on the Internet it seems a bit cheaper again in Singapore. I decide to leave it till then - a bit more Internet research, and I have a mate in Singapore who can point me in the direction of a good shop. I really don't want to repeat this mall experience in Orchard Rd.

On Tuesday I'll take in a bit of the non-commercial side of KL, and visit the old square and the park for a change of pace before I catch the bus to Malacca. After much thought I've decided against Borneo - not the right time of year, and I don't have enough time if I'm going to do KL, Malacca and Singapore justice. There'll always be another opportunity to come back to this part of the world.

It's also a time to think about my Mum. She was born on 8 Jan, and died on 7 Jan 2005, a day short of her 86th birthday. Hi Mum! Happy birthday - miss you. Hope you and Dad are enjoying my blog :-)

Trekking the Cameron Highlands

2,000m up in the highlands and the weather's nice and cool - a far cry from the 30+ degrees on the coast. I rug up in my fleece ready to tackle whatever the jungle can throw at me.

But first, a visit to the Boh Tea plantation.


The tea bushes are planted out in neat little rows, so the harvesters can get between them.


Tea was once picked by hand. These guys use plastic-shrouded shears, and toss the tea in to their backpacks after a few clips. More modern plantations are fully mechanised - but of course the quality suffers.

On to the factory, where I now know how tea is withered, crushed, fermented, dried and packed. Might even start drinking the stuff! I bought a little pack for Pauline, who's an avid tea drinker.

But no jungle yet. Next stop is the Butterfly Farm, which has an interesting variety of insects and animals to view before moving on to the pretty ones.


Now this is a cool bug! These guys are genuine - no touch-up paint here.


I (and everyone else) pass on the opportunity to have one of these little fellows on our hands. I can just imagine explaining to Southern Cross why they paid tens of thousands in medical bills just because I wanted to play with a scorpion.


The tortoise was a much safer bet.


As were the millipedes after the guide explained they weren't poisonous - only the centipedes. What he didn't say was that millipedes can still give you a nasty nip - but fortunately I didn't aggravate these ones. It's a unique sensation having 2,000 legs simultaneously searching for grip on your hand.

Nik - what goes 997, 998, 999, clunk? A millipede with a wooden leg! Why are mother millipedes always cross? Because the kids are always losing their shoes! :-)


Now here's a bug that really knows all about camouflage.


On to some stunning iridescent butterflies.


These guys have a wing span as wide as your hand.


Ok - getting closer to the jungle trek now, but first to try my hand at blowpipe shooting. I could do with some practice! To be on the safe side, our darts aren't tipped in poison (typically made from frogs or snakes). You have two minutes left to live if struck by a poison dart. Apparently it takes two darts to bring down a tiger.

On to the trek at last. Our mission? To walk one and a half hours into the jungle to see if we can find the fabled Rafflesia flower - the largest in the world. Very hard to find, and they only bloom for seven days. I'm a bit dubious - I've never walked that far for a flower before, but the trek should be fun.

We set off up a slippery clay 4WD track, which quickly narrows to jungle single track. I keep an eye out for snakes, scorpions and spiders, and settle in comfortably near the back of our group to ensure those up front encounter them first. (We actually alternated - I'm not that wussy!)


We cross rickety bamboo bridges...


and slippery logs across raging streams...


and past stunning waterfalls...


and after 90 minutes we reach it.

What - this is it??

Our guide laughs. "Ah - you're lucky to see this - it's just a bud. Hasn't opened yet."

Big deal. No snakes, no scorpions, no spiders, and only a flower bud!

Then our guide points up the hill.


And the damned thing takes our breath away. It's huge!


But you really need a photo with me in it to get an appreciation of the size.

Well satisfied, our group (three Canadians and a Dutch couple) trek back out to the road. We're lucky - it starts to rain just as we're heading back in to town in the van.

I look at the guide books back at the guesthouse. I've pretty much done all there is to do here. I book the 9am bus to KL, still hopeful of a Borneo trip. But I'm being increasingly warned of how wet Borneo is, and how nice Malacca is, so I'll call it over the next day or so.

Now to find a nice curry house for dinner. I'm running in energy deficit after the trek and need to make amends.

Langkawi - Penang - Cameron Highlands

Ah - a New Year's Eve party to remember at Zackry's in Langkawi. Zack invited all his residents to free satays and potato salad, and there were copious cheap beers to be bought from the fridge (Langkawi's a duty free zone, so alcohol is cheap).

I find myself chatting to Susan & Sarah, a couple of Aussie girls from Brisbane. As the magic hour approaches, I'm the only one who knows the words to Auld Lang Syne, so lead the singing. Fortunately, everyone's had a few beers by then, so no one complains.

The ferry to Penang doesn't leave until late afternoon, so I extend my scooter rental and see a bit more of the island.


First stop is the Snake Sanctuary. What these guys do with these venomous snakes is amazing. I speak to one of the guys afterwards, and he shows me all the bite marks on his hands - every now and then he gets unlucky. But they have first aid and antidotes readily to hand, so don't suffer the death or flesh-wasting problems of less fortunate victims I saw in photos.


The obligatory python shot. Lovely smooth skin and muscular body. The snake was like that too.


As there are few people visiting, our guide takes us right in to the cages. Scary being only a metre away from a cobra, but I figured he knew what he was doing.


Then my turn - the snakes are pretty sleepy, he reckoned.

On my own I get close to a highly venomous pit viper. I can just touch his body through the netting - and it generates an instant response. Rearing up ready to strike, I'm thankful for the barrier between him and me. I'd hate to disturb one on a jungle trek.

With the morning gone I just have time to squeeze in the Wildlife Sanctuary before returning the bike and catching a cab to the ferry terminal.


This handsome fellow rather appealed.

The ferry south to Penang takes three hours. It's a fairly rough trip, and a few passengers are barfing into bags. Fortunately I don't have any problems - apart from the air conditioning. It's set to "Cool store" temperature, and an icy blast on my back has me reaching for my fleece.

But soon enough we get to Georgetown, acclaimed by a cheer from the passengers as the boat throttles off in to the harbour. I've followed Richard's recommendation and arrive at Baba's Guesthouse in Batu Ferringhi, the beach area on the north western side of the island.

A motorbike is quickly sorted for Wednesday's activities. Sadly another scooter - this time a Honda 125 - but it'll get around ok. I meet up with Guillam and Anise from northern France - they're doing a post-graduation round the world trip, and will make it to Auckland in late February. I give them some tips on things to see and do, and will catch up with them if they email.

Wednesday morning doesn't start well. I'm up early for a run along the beach, but as opposed to Langkawi's fine coral sand the Penang sand is coarse. I settle for a walk. And a swim. Big mistake. Unbeknownst to me the offshore winds have pushed jellyfish towards the shore, and after 15 minutes in the murky water I'm suddenly aware of this stinging pain across the top of my feet as I'm swimming. I race back to the hotel to have a soothing gel rubbed in to the burning red rash - they've had this problem before.

I was going to dress this story up as a giant squid attack, but feel I'm tempting fate.

So no sandals today - the strap rubs in the sorest spot. I start my tour around the island in walking shoes.

My brother Geoff and his wife Annette lived in Kota Bharu on the north east coast around 25 years ago, and holidayed in Penang's E&O Hotel.


So my first stop on the road had to check it out. Great colonial architecture, typical of the old Penang buildings.


Of course I could barely afford a pastry and coffee at E&O's Sarkies Corner restaurant. At $US200 per night this hotel a bit out of my league. And I didn't even bother trying for a drink at Farquhars. But I can visualise you propping up the bar there Geoff!


On to Penang Hill, for a trip up to the top in the funicular railway, ie a cable pulls the passenger cars up to the top.


It's a hazy day, and the views out to Georgetown and the spectacular 13km bridge that connects Penang to the mainland are indistinct.


Much more satisfying is the Spice Garden, not far from Ferringhi Beach. Lovely walks taking in Jungle, Ornamental and Spice trails. Great seeing coffee, cloves, pepper, cinnamon and lemon grass all growing close together. I break off a bit of leaf from each and rub them between my fingers, and luxuriate in the aromas.

And Penang? A pleasant spot, but it's really an island city which has some nice beaches. Langkawi beats it hands down as a beach resort area, with the added bonus of cheap booze. I decide to move on to the Cameron Highlands, and book my bus accordingly.

Thursday morning also gets off to a bad start, but not due to jellyfish this time. The mosque not far from the guesthouse decides to call the faithful to worship at 5.30am. A bit early for morning prayers, I'm thinking. But this is a strongly Muslim society, so I go with the flow. Nearly all the women wear head scarves and full length dresses in Malaysia. A major contrast from Buddhist Thailand.

I decide not to go for a swim this morning. It's still pitch black at 7am - despite being on the same longitude as Thailand, Malaysia has decided to put its clocks forward an hour to give perpetual daylight saving. I grab a Bill Bryson book from the library to fill in some time.

It's a nearly six hour trip south to the interior of the peninsula, and I sleep a lot of the way. Once we're off the main road to KL the road twists and turns its way up the hills (another dream bike road) to Tanah Rata, the central town in the Cameron Highlands. We pass tea plantations and strawberry farms, and I sense another bike trip coming up. On arrival a van from Twin Pines Guesthouse is there to meet the bus - this is the same place Fi and Lydia stayed a few months ago, and came with their recommendation.

I like my room - private bathroom with a welcome hot shower. It's cold up here in the highlands - reminds me of NZ with the hills and 20 degree temperatures. I decide on an all day trek on Friday, renting a bike for Saturday morning to take in what the trek misses, then on to KL in the afternoon. I'm still hanging out for Borneo if it comes together.

My next post will tell you about my jungle trekking encounters with giant spiders and venomous snakes. My feet have recovered now, and can take in a reasonable amount of walking. Stay tuned!